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displaced

While I'm not in high school, I'm not exactly sure where else to post. I am currently a sophomore in college and I was wondering what I can be doing right now, other than keeping up my GPA, to help my chances of getting into a good law school and also just to gain some experience. Many law firms dont generally accept interns unless they're already in law school. How can I go about getting and internship or the like this summer?

Lucky77

DON'T work at a law firm. It really doesnt help your application, as many applicants do that. Do it only if your unsure about going into law and want to know the nuts and bolts of how a firm works.

If your from a wealthy family (or even middle class) do humanitarian work. The Red Cross, Soup Kitchens, Volunteering, etc. If you grew up poor, try and get internships at high-end places like Merrill Lynch or something. This advice isnt just comming out of my arse, its from Columbia's dean of admissions in the book "How to get into the top law schools"

Also, start studying for the LSAT. The most important factor to getting in.

I would suggest trying to get a job as a runner at a law firm or for the DA. That won't necessarily give you an advantage when you apply, but it will DEFINITELY give you a great understanding of what it's like to be a lawyer. You might even figure out what kind of law you want to practice which would help in picking schools.

Also, I agree with Towlie. Start studying for the LSAT, but use Actual LSATs (there's a whole series). I found that the questions in the other books weren't structured very well. Use them if you don't understand why the correct answers are right, but primarily stick to Actual LSAT tests.

I'm in law school now. If I had college to do over again, I'd take some advanced courses in American history so that once I got to law school I'd understand the context of the legal decisions we're reading. I also might seek out more public speaking experience.

Otherwise, it's just a matter of keeping up your GPA and demonstrating leadership in some campus organization.

I seriously doubt that admissions committees care much about whether or not you intern in a law firm. If you do manage to get the opportunity, though, it would be good to see whether you actually want to be a lawyer. I'm going to intern next summer without ever having had that experience!

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SCgrad

There is no reason to start studying for the LSAT now. That is insane to me. I knew someone who started studying like 6 months before the test. I thought he was crazy. Advice, don't get bad grades, don't get in trouble, and do one or two EC that actually involve something. Honor societies and other bullsh*t things that only require a 60 dollar check will not help at all.

Yes, you can start studying for the LSATs now. I was crazy in HS and started studying for the SATs as a frosh, but it got me a full ride in college. Studying LSATs a year early yielded me a good score too. It couldn't hurt.

Don't work in a law firm. Do volunteer work. Be diverse. I work with members of the recruiting committee at a big midwest law firm, and they are looking for interesting people who can show they have several different sides outside of wanting to be a lawyer. Those are the people that get interviews (if they have the good grades, of course).

Also, don't neglect your college work. Top grades are half the battle, so study hard. Do extracurriculars, and take leadership positions. Study abroad. Be interesting.

Take a look at a law school app and fill it out. See where you are weakest and fix it.